Veteran riders Zach Osborne and Phil Nicoletti finished first and second in Open Pro competition in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, and provided some on-track education for the younger riders.
The Open Pro class provides the the most unique experience in the week-long show and in 2026 it lived up to the description as a race open to all.
Ryder Malinoski finished ahead of his ClubMX training partner Jesson Turner.
Osborne and Nicoletti jumped to an early lead, but they had a teenager giving chase. Johnson, 18, grabbed their tow and passed both riders on the second lap to lead for three circuits around the track. Johnson completed the pass on the veterans while turning the fastest lap of the moto with a time of 1:54.122 compared to Osborne’s 1:54.412 (on Lap 6) and Nicoletti’s 1:55.193 (Lap 5).
Johnson eventually dropped to third in the final rundown, but he still had the veterans in sight when the checkers waved. Johnson was three seconds behind Nicoletti.
Once in the lead, Osborne stretched his advantage and finished 10 seconds ahead of the field.
Mayla Herrick’s pair of crashes came in the final three laps.
Coming off a second-place finish the day previous, Jesson Turner gave early notice that he will be one of the riders identified with the 2026 Amateur Nationals. He had a modest start and was as far back as 12th on Lap 3 before hitting the afterburner and clawing his way to fourth.
Cole Forbes followed Turner through the field and finished fifth after starting 14th.
In sixth-place, Honda’s Jacob Weiner rounded out an impressively eclectic field. Osborne’s Beta, Nicoletti’s Husqvarna, Johnson’s Kawasaki, and Turner’s Yamaha contributed to six manufacturers among the top six riders.
The 250 Pro Sport winner, Ryder Malinoski, was part of the the battle early and overcame a 20th-place starting position to race among the top 10 by the third lap, but misfortune forced him to retire on Lap 5.
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